Royalty
by James B. Moore
Summary: King Romulus was one of the greatest rulers the Iberian Kingdom had ever seen. But when he dies, his twin grandsons are the only two who are able to take the throne. Prince Feliciano is the people's choice, but Prince Romano is next-in-line, leaving the both of them at a stalemate- a stalemate Lovino wants to break. And he'll hunt down the Lost Princess to do it.


**Unedited and not beta'd. However, I just had to post it for edwardsuoh13's present! **

When the king of a kingdom falls, his heir must take the throne. That is the rule to which every monarchy adheres; however, the situation is complicated when "heir" is actually "heirs."

"Sires, I've told you many times before. Only one of you can take the throne." The royal advisor groaned from his seat behind the desk, shuffling through the ginormous pile of paperwork in front of him. With dark bags under his eyes, it was painfully obvious that the death of King Romulus had taken a heavy toll on the man.

When King Romulus returned from his travels with a high fever and severe stomach pains, the entire kingdom knew that the end was drawing near. He was stricken with the Disease; there was no record of _anyone_ ever surviving the Disease. But still, the royal clinic spent its days trying to find a cure, the royal financers raised taxes, and the townspeople sacrificed more to the gods than usual. Who could blame them? King Romulus didn't have one son- he had two. Twins, actually.

"Why can't Fratello and I both be kings?" Prince Feliciano asked, furrowing his brows in frustration. King Romulus's death had probably affected him the most- everyone knew he was the family favorite.

"Why are we even arguing? I'm the older one. _I _should get the throne by default." Prince Lovino grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest. His brother had dragged him into the advisor's office many times before to plead that they become "co-kings," and every time he asked, the royal advisor would tell them both the same thing.

The royal advisor didn't respond, instead choosing to keep his head down and his eyes focused on the paper he was so frantically scrawling on. There was a stretch of silence between the men where the only noises that could be heard were the birds outside the window and the quill scratching on paper. Prince Lovino broke that moment by pushing his chair back and storming out of the advisor's office. It didn't take long for Prince Feliciano to come running after him.

"Lovino! Why are you so mad?" Feliciano placed a hand on his brother's shoulder, but Lovino shook it off.

"Isn't it obvious, Feli? They won't give me the crown because no one wants me to be king. They want _you_ to take the throne," Lovino said, pausing to look his brother in the eyes, "alone."

Feliciano didn't even get the chance to open his mouth- Lovino had already stomped off towards his room. Locking the door behind him, Lovino let the tears he'd been holding back pool in his eyes. In all 17 years of his life, he'd been second-rate in comparison to his brother, even though he was older by a few minutes. He was always never as good at the arts, never as good at his studies, never as good as Feliciano. The throne was the only thing he had to look forward to, but even that was in danger of being lost to Feliciano. _Just like Grandpa Rome's affections, _Lovino thought. _ I have to take the throne. _

* * *

"Fratello!"

Lovino turned to look over his shoulder from his perch atop his horse. He hadn't planned for anyone to know that he was going out, let alone his own brother. With a sigh and pull of the reins, he turned his horse around. "Yes, Feli?"

"Where are you going?" Feliciano asked, his eyes searching Lovino's face for an answer.

Lovino didn't answer, contemplating whether the truth or a simple lie would make things go smoother. In the end, he went with a little mix of both.

"Feliciano, I'm leaving and I don't know when I'll be back. But I do know that if I come back, I'll be able to take the throne. And if I don't…" Lovino trailed off, staring into Feliciano's with the hope that he understood what was left unsaid.

To his relief, Feliciano did. "Fratello, I'll see you when you get back," Feliciano said, smiling brightly.

_As optimistic as ever_, Lovino thought to himself, chuckling. He turned his horse around again, and with a wave of his hand, he was gone.

* * *

Lost and confused, Lovino let out a string of newly invented curses. He'd already used all the generic ones.

"What did that bastard advisor say? 'Find the tower in the woods?' How hard is it to find a **fucking tower?**" Lovino raged, harshly pulling on his horse's reins. "That old potato sucker didn't even give me clear goddamn directions- how the hell am I supposed to rescue a princess when I don't even know where the hell she is?!"

The deal was that if Lovino could rescue the famed "Lost Princess" and bring her home, the advisor would make the proper arrangements to give Lovino the throne. Something about public opinion and chivalry- Lovino didn't really care; he had only stayed to figure out what he needed to do. It was starting to become obvious that he should have stayed longer because Lovino wasn't making much progress. And when Lovino's horse started to slow down and show signs of weariness, he knew just how screwed he was.

Luckily, Lovino had passed a lake during his travels. He returned to it, and as his horse was drinking its fill, Lovino spotted a figure across the lake. His first thought was to grab his weapon from his satchel, but after a moment of thinking ti over, he realized that he might as well try to find some information.

"Hey! You! Over there!" Lovino yelled, waving his arm frantically in an attempt to catch the figure's attention.

The figure waved back and shouted something in response, but Lovino couldn't quite hear. Frustrated, Lovino started walking around the lake towards the figure. When it started to walk away, then Lovino started running.

"Stop! Hey!" Lovino tried to get his/her attention, but to no avail. The figure disappeared, carrying with it Lovino's hope for finding the Lost Princess. "God damn it, what a fucking potato smoker I have half a mind to-"

"¡Hola, amigo! That's some colorful language there."

Lovino squeaked in surprise, jumping away from the mysterious stranger who popped up. Tussled brown hair framed an olive toned face with shining green eyes, and Lovino had to look up to see the man's face since he was taller than Lovino by a couple of inches. For some reason, Lovino thought this man seemed familiar.

"Is there something on my face?" the man asked, tilting his head.

"No, it's just- have we met before?" Lovino squinted at the man, trying to find some sort of hint on the stranger's face, and then shook his head to clear his mind. "Sorry, I must be tired from all my searching. I'm Prince Lovino Vargas of the Iberian Kingdom" he said, extending his hand for a handshake.

"Antonio Carriedo and I live around these parts. It's nice to meet you!" Antonio replied, shaking Lovino's hand with a firm grasp.

Lovino might have imagined it, or maybe it was a trick of the sunlight, but Antonio seemed to have been a bit taken aback when Lovino introduced himself. But Lovino didn't have time to stress about that- he was on a quest.

"That's great, actually I need directions. Do you know where I can find," Lovino lowered his gaze to the ground, a bit embarrassed at what he was going to ask, "uh the Lost Princess?"

"The Lost Princess?" Antonio laughed, his eyes sparkling in the sunlight. "I don't think I've heard that before."

"Really? _Everyone_ knows that story where I come from. A while ago, when I was still a kid, the princess from the next kingdom over disappeared. Everyone went crazy. They said she ran away to a tower in the Great Forest- this forest, actually. Anyway, people are still looking for her," Lovino explained as he led Antonio to his horse.

"Are you sure it was a princess?"

Lovino turned to look at Antonio- that was a strange question to ask. "It could have been a prince, I guess?" he responded with a shrug.

"Well, I have a map of the forest back at my place. Maybe it'll help you!"

At that point, Lovino was already suspicious of Antonio. There was obviously a puzzle to be solved, but he just wasn't sure where to put the pieces. However, when they finally arrived at Antonio's place, everything made sense.

They stood in front of a tall, stone tower.

"You… Are you…?" Lovino stammered, staring at Antonio wide-eyed.

"I have to apologize for lying earlier. I guess you would know me as Prince Antonio Carriedo of the Viverian Kingdom," Antonio chuckled, "or maybe as the Lost Prince."


End file.
